The 1977 Small World competition (at the time, called the Photomicro/macrography contest) was sponsored by the Nikon Instrument Division when it was a subsidiary of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries, Inc. Included among the unusual microscopy techniques employed by the entrants: utilizing a darkfield condenser in a polarizing microscope, "rear" illumination, Hoffman Modulation Contrast (very new at the time), electronic flash photomacrography, and ultraviolet illumination.

1977 Contest Prizewinners

  • First Prize

    1st Prize - James W. Smith

    Independence, Ohio, USA
    Specimen: Crystals of rutile (titanium dioxide) and tridymite (a polymorph of quartz) in a cobalt-rich glass (350x)
    Technique: Combined oblique illumination and reflected light

  • Second Prize

    2nd Prize - Brian Johnston

    Etobicoke, Ontario
    Specimen: A thin-melt specimen of hippuric acid (280x)
    Technique: Darkfield condenser in polarizing microscope

  • Third Prize

    3rd Prize - James M. Bell

    Tarrytown, New York, USA
    Specimen: Living fresh-water cyclops (water flea) with egg sacs (75x)
    Technique: Polarized Light Illumination

  • Fourth Prize

    4th Prize - Jack Kath

    Westfield, New Jersey, USA
    Specimen: Villus in section of small intestine (125x)
    Technique: Illuminated from rear

  • Fifth Prize

    5th Prize - Joseph Goren

    Miami, Florida, USA
    Specimen: Latex-injected vessels of the iris of the eye (125x)
    Technique: Oblique Illumination

  • Sixth Prize

    6th Prize - Keith Muscutt

    Santa Cruz, California, USA
    Specimen: Crystals of propionamide in optically isotropic medium (100x)
    Technique: Polarized Light Illumination

  • Seventh Prize

    7th Prize - Harlan H. Baker

    Ames, Iowa, USA
    Specimen: Crystals in quenched steel in a matrix of austenite (600x)
    Technique: Polarized Light, using sensitive tint illumination

  • Eighth Prize

    8th Prize - Carl G. Pearson

    Oroville, California, USA
    Specimen: Mosquito larvae (30x)
    Technique: 35-millimeter camera and bellows, illuminated by electronic flash

  • Ninth Prize

    9th Prize - Bronislaw Rakiewicz

    Hamilton, Ontario
    Specimen: Ascorbic acid dissolved in alcohol (39x)
    Technique: Polarized Light Illumination

  • Tenth Prize

    10th Prize - Robert C. Turner

    San Diego, California, USA
    Specimen: Dense central core of mucus (320x)
    Technique: Brightfield Illumination

  • Eleventh Prize

    11th Prize - William A. Sokol

    Culver City, California, USA
    Specimen: Sulphonal crystal (40x)
    Technique: Polarized Light Illumination

  • Twelfth Prize

    12th Prize - David Gnizak

    Independence, Ohio, USA
    Specimen: Recrystallized fluorescein (55x)
    Technique: Transmitted light with Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

  • Thirteenth Prize

    13th Prize - Gary Wayne Cox

    Fullerton, California, USA
    Specimen: Tapeworm found in carnivores (50x)
    Technique: Hoffman Modulation Contrast

  • Fourteenth Prize

    14th Prize - Robert C. Beebe

    Rome, Pennsylvania, USA
    Specimen: Crystallized copper sulfate electroplating solution on copper (25x)
    Technique: Differential Interference contrast

  • Fifteenth Prize

    15th Prize - George Brangan

    Westlake Village, California, USA
    Specimen: Crystal of pharmaceutical chemical Pontocaine (25x)
    Technique: Transmitted Polarized Light Illumination

  • Sixteenth Prize

    16th Prize - Marvin E. Lehrman

    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Single strand of couch grass sprayed with fluorescent paint (20x)
    Technique: Ultraviolet Illumination

  • Seventeenth Prize

    17th Prize - Ralph L. Shook

    Hemet, California, USA
    Specimen: Leaf whole mount, Pittosporum (31x)
    Technique: Transmitted Polarized Light Illumination

  • Eighteenth Prize

    18th Prize - Joseph A. Josephs

    Memphis, Tennessee, USA
    Specimen: Roundworm in sputum (400x)
    Technique: Brightfield Illumination

  • Nineteenth Prize

    19th Prize - Walter S. Jenkins

    Microworld Services - Clarkston, Georgia, USA
    Specimen: Section through wheatstem (100x)
    Technique: Brightfield with Eastman PCF film developed in C-22

  • Twentieth Prize

    20th Prize - James M. Bell

    Tarrytown, New York, USA
    Specimen: Living mosquito larva showing internal structure of head (50x)
    Technique: Polarized Light Illumination

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